What's the best way to get more stopping power out of my ranger. I'm worried that on steep grades with 1000lb load I'm not going to have enough breaking power or worse yet burn through my brakes so fast. Any ideas or suggestions would be great. I'm driving a 1999 xlt Auto 4x4 V6 4.0L.

Thanks

 

Maybe slotted rotors up front with performance pads, the rotors will stay cooler. You can get disc brake conversions for the rear too, which will probably be the biggest improvement... Stainlesssteelbrakes.com (have to double check that) has a conversion but it's 800 or so bucks.
Personally, I think you'll be fine. I've had my truck all loaded up moving, pulling a 5x8 enclosed trailer full of stuff with no trailer brakes, no problem. You can tow a couple thousand pounds behind you and stop fine...

 

Thanks 98xlt4x4 I'll look into the disk brakes on the rear. I'm glad to hear that I may not need the extra power. I'm just leery putting a camper on the truck and want to make sure everything is adequate for it. I'm ordering up some air bags and rancho 9000's next week so when I get them on I'll report back on how they work for the ranger.

Thanks again

 

Your owners manual will tell you how to use engine braking on steep downhill grades. Shifting to a lower gear will keep your brakes from overheating.

It's amazing how many folks dont seem to know this.

 

I think this is a great idea to use the engine for breaking power. However I have an automatic so is this still an option? I had thought about engaging the cruise control and bringing it down to a slower speed I think that might help as well. Is this a good idea or not?

 

Makes no difference if it's a manual or auto trans.

The trailer towing section in the owners manual for my Ranger talks about downshifting an automatic trans for engine braking when towing. So look in the trailer towing section of your owners manual.

The cruise control wont help with braking.

 

Thanks I'll give that section a read. That's a big help.

 

The cargo capacity of the truck should be around a thousand pounds so the brakes should me more than up to the task of halting that weight. I have a 2004 and the brakes are very strong on it and I wouldn't even think twice about towing 4 or 5 thousand pounds without extra brakes.

 

On your truck you'll feel a big difference in engine braking with the OD off.

 

Thanks for the tip on the OD. Ya i feel comfortable stopping with a 1000lbs. What I don't feel comfortable with is if my truck is overloaded. Not that I would do this

 

There's a good chance it will be overloaded, but not by a significant amount. The GVWR is there for legal reasons, for the average driver and stock truck. Drive smart and upgrade, use common sense and things will be fine. I was going to buy a camper for my truck before I lifted it, here are a few plans I had for upgrading the truck...
Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks all the way around, reduce bouncing and reduced movement in quick manuevers. Crank torsion bars for a little lift, mostly to stiffen the front end up. For the rear, an add-a-lead in the pack, a longer shackle, and removed lift blocks (less than $100). This puts the truck at the factory height, with stiffer springs, and less axle wrap. Then add airbags in back for adjustability, and a bigger rear anti-sway bar, to keep body roll under control. The other thing is tires, most any C range LT tires should be fine, and 16" D range would be best for lower, stiffer sidewalls. I think that's about it for handle upgrades, and I'm sure you would be fine with much less than that. Performance upgrades are up to you. A better intake, exhaust and a computer chip should make a noticeable difference. Since you have an auto, you'll definately want a good tranny cooler, and turning the overdrive off will help out in many ways.

 

Thanks 98xlt4x4 all of those upgrades you suggested I'll be planning on doing. In fact some of the parts are allready on order. I think I have a tranny cooler allready but i guess I shouldn't assume. There is what appears to be a smaller radiator in front of the regular radiator. It's not quite half the size and is down in the lower passenger side infront of the radiator. I always assumed this was for the tranny but maybe not. Is it?

 

My 2 cents on using the engine as a breaking system, this is the only time that we get to use the other half of our motor. When we drive our trucks in a normal manor, as we accelerate, hard or soft, we push our pistons in to the same side of the piston cylinder. The only way to use the other side, is to use the engine as a break, by shifting down to help slow the truck down. As we do so the pistons are forced to the unused side of the cylinder, and this side is in very good condition. If a person ever has the chance to look at an engine that is tore down, check out the pistons and cylinder walls and see for yourselves. One side will show a great amount of wear and the other will not. The wore side is the side that we use every day, day in day out, for acceleration. When we use our trucks in this way we are just getting a chance to use all of our trucks and not leaving money on the table, buying a truck is an investment and we should use our money as best we can.

Okay I am done with the rant,
Da’Moose

 

First, regarding Level 2: He wrote that he wouldn't think twice about towing 4 or 5 thousand pounds...with a Ranger? Yeah, I wouldn't think twice either - I wouldn't do it. Rangers are not made for that. That's well over twice the weight of the car, which some full size trucks can do, but not small trucks. Don't mean to start anything level 2, but I don't think that's sound advice. 1000 pounds maybe, but not 2 more tons.

Moose, regarding wearing of the cylinder walls, but I guess I never though about it. I can see how one 'side' of the cylinder wall would get worn more. However, engine braking to even this out is a silly notion. It's just that - more wear. And if you do so much engine braking that you even that out, you're going to have serious engine problems before you have brake problems (even with adequate engine cooling). So ask yourself, do you want more wear on your engine, or on your brakes? I'd sure rather have to replace my pads ($50?) than replace my engine.

For towing 1000 pounds - if I had to do it frequently, like several times a week or more, I would consider an upgraded brake system or upgraded truck (even then 4.0 will lag some with 1000 extra pounds, so better brakes only solves one of your issues). If you don't have that much weight that frequently, or you are set on keeping your truck, get used to checking your brake system more often, and replacing pads more often; they're pretty cheap. If properly maintained, I don't think you'll shorten the life of your entire braking system by much.

I don't know if high perf. rotors and pads will make your brakes perform better (I'm not saying they won't), but they probably will last longer. Like everything else automotive, heat buildup is huge and often overlooked, and is important for you brakes and engine. The comments about the tires were right on too. A tire designed for a higher load may be a good idea. More weight = more heat, and heat affects tires as well. Look at it this way: you are asking the car to do more than it was really designed. Truck ads brag about how much they can tow, and that's for bragging rights. Which is why even full size trucks have heavy duty versions - that come with extra and/or larger cooling systems (engine & tranny), heavy duty suspension, and yes, brakes.

Most important safety feature - the driver. Always be mindful that with 1000 extra pounds, your vehicle is now about 25% heavier than with no weight. Extra stopping distance is and lower speed will make up for that. You can't cheat physics, many have tried.

 

To defend my thought’s on using the engine as a brake,

From mcoom00, “Moose, regarding wearing of the cylinder walls, but I guess I never though about it. I can see how one 'side' of the cylinder wall would get worn more. However, engine braking to even this out is a silly notion. It's just that - more wear. And if you do so much engine braking that you even that out, you're going to have serious engine problems before you have brake problems (even with adequate engine cooling). So ask yourself, do you want more wear on your engine, or on your brakes? I'd sure rather have to replace my pads ($50?) than replace my engine.”

When using your engine as a brake, I do agree that it is adding wear to the engine. But this wear is very little and of no major concern, in comparisons to the wear that we are incurring by accelerating.

When we are accelerating, especially when towing, our cylinder temperatures rise. The harder we work our trucks the higher the temperature rise. It is this Temperature rise is the major cause of engine wear, Pistons get hot and soften, Oil breaks down under the heat and pressure which in turn will add friction and run the temperature even higher. This why we need to ensure when towing that our cooling systems and oil systems are up to the task when towing. How many times have you seen a truck on the side of the road with the hood up and steaming just near the top of a hill?!?!?! I have even had to run my heater in the middle of summer to help the engine cool while climbing a hill while towing, in the heat of summer.

On the other hand when we use our engine as a brake, it is just working as an Air compressor and the resistance of the air getting compressed is the force that helps slow things down. Yes the action of compressing air will cause heat, not no where near the temperatures of accelerating, and our cooling system is able to handle this load easily.

And not to mention that brakes alone will give out if worked to hard at any given time. I have had my brakes just go away while diving down a mountain slowly, under 10mph; I was not traveling fast enough to use the engine as a brake, and was forced to ride my brakes to keep my speed down. What I did is get my brakes so hot that it caused my brake fluid to boil and turn to a gas instead of staying a liquid and stable, a gas will compress and that is of no use in a braking system. Have you ever seen a run away truck lane in a mountain pass? Heavy trucks will have a problem with the brake linings getting so hot that they glaze and at that point the friction needed to slow down and or stop is gone. A diesel motor can not ‘engine brake’ as good as a gas motor can, yes most do have a ‘Jake brake’ which is close and work well but you get my point. When your brakes get that hot they will warp and melt in some cases, not to mention the fire hazard. Now we are talking some serious cash to get back on the road….

I am not a big fan of putting all of my eggs in one basket when it comes to my life or the life of others. Using your engine as a brake is the best way to go when controlling speed and use your brakes when you need them to slow down to a stop. I like to know that my brakes will be there when I need them.

Da’Moose